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Anschutz 1417 .22LR

I recently part exchanged a Ruger .17HMR for an Anschutz 1417 .22LR. I had not been satisfied with certain functions of the Ruger, and the calibre was totally unsuitable for the work I need a rimfire for.

The Anschutz is a walnut stocked thumbhole version. I chose this rifle after considering another Ruger, a Sako and BRNO. The overall appearance and finish of the Anschutz set it apart from the other makes I have listed, or at least from the models I was shown at the gun shop I dealt with. Also the short overall length of the Anschutz was an obvious bonus when shooting from a vehicle or off the quad bike. When fitted with a sound moderator the gun was shorter than most other makes without moderators fitted. I chose the thumbhole stock because it felt more comfortable than conventional ‘pistol grips’. I am not as supple as I used to be, and I find many pistol grips to be angled too steep to be comfortable for me.

I am rather old fashioned as far as barrels are concerned, and usually prefer longer barrels, convincing myself they are essential to get decent accuracy. After consulting several people with more experience than me, I was assured that the 14 inch Anschutz barrel is an accurate enough tool.

The finish of the walnut stock was not to my liking. It is finished with the usual varnish/lacquer, leaving it very flat and almost yellow in colour. The chequering is adequate with 16 lines to the inch.
I stripped the stock quite easily with varnish remover, and achieved a satisfactory finish with CCL gunstock oil. There was no need to use any stain as the wood took on a nice dark brown appearance just by oiling.

The barrel is fully floating, and did not need any bedding to the action, or wood removing from the fore end. Although I had to sand some wood from the rear of the stock to ease the bolt, as it touched the stock slightly when operated.
The action is easily removed from the stock, by removing two slot head machine screws, one in the floor plate in front of the magazine slot, and the other at the rear of the trigger guard.

The magazine has a 10 shot capacity, and is a slightly curved steel bodied affair, which is easy to fill, and works perfectly. It is also very easy to strip if you need to clean it.
To remove the magazine from the action a tab, situated in the floor plate behind the magazine is pushed forward, and then the magazine can easily be grasped, and pulled from the action.

I ran the barrel in by using the usual shoot one clean one method.
Whilst doing this I tried several sound moderators, eventually settling for the SAK. Not only for performance, but for it’s short length and lightness compared to some other makes.

I tried Winchester, CCI, RWS, and Eley ammunition.
I found RWS to be dangerous through my gun. After half a dozen very inaccurate shots, they actually started clipping the moderator to such an extent, damage would have occurred by firing more.
Winchester’s did not group well. They were nearly an inch and a half, at 40 yards with five shots.
CCI’s grouped at just over half an inch at the same distance.
Eley’s grouped at 3/8s of an inch, making neat little clover leaf shaped holes. So needless to say, Eley Extra Plus are now my firm favourite through the 1417.

What can I say about the Anschutz Trigger? I find it to be near perfect. It has an easy, but good to feel first stage, with a very crisp, drag free second stage. You do not need to be built like the Terminator to pull the trigger, it operates at a 2lb pull straight from the box. There is no stripping and polishing with carborundum stones required, with an Anschutz trigger.

The bolt is easy to cycle, with a large round knob on the end of the handle.
To remove the bolt, the trigger has to be pulled, and a small button pushed on the opposite side of the action to the bolt handle. The bolt can then be pulled out of the action. Although it does become slightly stiff, and feels hard to pull just before it clears the action. Newness? I will find out in time.

The safety catch is a manually operated, two position, rocking device. situated just behind the bolt handle. Rock it forward to fire, rearwards for safe.

Now the bad points.

The action was probably designed round a standard stock, which when fitted to the Thumbhole stock, makes the safety catch impossible to reach with your thumb, without completely removing your hand from the grip, and then it is not easy to find without looking. Annoying when a target presents a chance of a snap shot. In fact I find it easier to cycle the bolt than release the safety catch. So I totally ignore the safety, and only chamber a round when a shot presents itself.

There is no indexing/locking facility on the bolt. It is very, very easy to knock the bolt up slightly, which stops the pin hitting the round, resulting in a misfire and a lost opportunity of a successful shot. At first I suspected that it was me being clumsy, but I am not so sure. I would welcome other peoples views on this.

The case ejection on my gun, is barely adequate. The empties hardly clear the receiver, and sometimes fall back in, stopping the bolt from closing. Although they are easily cleared by tilting the rifle over, and simply allowing the offending case to drop out.

In conclusion, despite the faults I find with my gun. I find the Anschutz 1417 a very light, extremely comfortable, fast handling, and accurate gun. It is ideal for the purposes I require a rimfire for. Short to medium range general vermin control, especially lamping at night. It is easy to use, and absolutely loads of fun to shoot with.
I regularly take shots out to eighty yards, beyond that accuracy does open up a bit. But I am sure the 1417 was never intended to be a long range sniping gun.
If your requirements of a .22LR are similar to mine, I would not hesitate to recommend the Anschutz 1417.

I also owned a 1417 (thumbhole stock) and would agree with the comments made by Hare's Ear. There are a few points I would add:
1.The ten shot magazine supplied with the rifle would often jam. I more often relied on the five shot version which never caused problems. The ten shot magazine that I had from another Anschutz did not have this problem.I have heard of other 10 shot magazines jamming, maybe there is a quick fix?
2.The bolt clicked twice on opening, but was reasonably quiet when operated very slowly. I doubt that it was loud enough at worst to spook anything. The most irritating feature of the bolt was the inability to lock it down. When carrying the rifle by the sling the bolt would inevitably pop open to the first detent and it always had to be checked before taking aim.
3.When an Anschutz is purchased the first thought is accuracy potential. Here I was disappointed, when compared to other Anschutz .22LR rifles I have fired. At 55yd it could group 0.5", but more often much larger and rarely smaller. This level of accuracy is perfectly adequate for the intended purpose of this style of rifle, but a 1710 it is not. On one occasion I fired a Rapid 17 (21ftlb/Premier 10.5gr)side by side with the 1417 and the Rapid grouped tighter at 55yd. At longer range (115yd) the best group was 0.9", but more often greater than 1.5" using Lapua Master ammunition. I sold the 1417 to buy a 1710 HB - this rifle will regularly shoot inside one inch at 115yd with Eley HVHP and Subsonic ammunition, but with different trajectories.

I also have one of these, and would agree with some of the comments, but have never had a problem with ejection or with safety catch operation. The latter maybe because I modified the stock for thumb-up position as soon as I got it. It was easily done and only took about an hour.
Mis-fires due to bolt being slightly displaced in the up position, continue to annoy.

Titan, Baz posted some months ago that the problem with the accuracy of the carbine was a result of the barrel being too short to ensure powder burn (other than with pistol cartridges). I have a long barreled '64 action rifle (already reviewed) and it's plenty accurate.

Thanks for the feedback lads.
It seems the lack of indexing or locking of the bolt is a problem with other peoples guns, as in my own.

I have two ten shot mags, one I bought from Ed W recently. I have had no trouble with either of them, yet!

I must admit, I have not paid much attention to the noise of the bolt cycle, but I will be listening intently on Monday night.

The safety catch is still a problem for me. The thumbhole grip was one of the reasons I bought the 1417. I find it is the most comfortable type of grip for me. A push button safety on the trigger or in the trigger guard, would surely be sensible with the thumbhole stock.

As I said in my revue, the short barrel probably loses accuracy at long ranges (100 yds etc.) but that is not the type of shooting I am doing. The .243 or the head keepers .22-250 comes out for the long jobs.

But when all said and done, I absolutely adore shooting my stumpy little Anschutz. It is the most fun I have had with a bolt action rimfire. <img src="http://jsramsbottom.co.uk/bbs/e/icon_smile.gif" alt="Smile" width="15" height="15"><!--graemlin:-->

Robin, it's funny but I actually find the safety EASIER to operate with gloves on. I always make sure the bolt is all the way down before taking a shot. I don't find the problem THAT annoying. For all it's quirks, the rifle is a real pleasure to use.

Can't argue with whats been said. I bought mine when they first came out, before the prices dropped. I found the standard stock a bit hit and miss regarding eye relief so I invested in a Gary Kane for it.
The safety catch on mine is still stiff as hell, but the bolt action is free enough now to cycle with two fingers. Will post pics when I get a chance.
By the way mine came with one of those silencers that has a spring and aluminium conal (?) baffles inside it. Be warned they are a complete b***er to get apart once the baffles are coated in crude.

"Shooters, regardless of their preferred quarry, enjoy their sport for its ability to transfer them from their day-to-day life into a world where they can lose themselves for a few hours". B Potts.

Interesting point stillair1, because I know several people who have one, have read several editorial articles about them, and ALL have indicated that the gun comes complete with moderator.
But mine most emphatically didn't, and even the importer I'm sure told me a porkie, saying that they had NEVER sold one, or seen one come complete with a sound moderator <img src="http://jsramsbottom.co.uk/bbs/e/icon_rolleyes.gif" alt="Roll Eyes" width="15" height="15"><!--graemlin:-->

Is this just a reflection of the "lower" price? <img src="http://jsramsbottom.co.uk/bbs/e/icon_confused.gif" alt="Confused" width="15" height="22"><!--graemlin:-->

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by leupy:
and even the importer I'm sure told me a porkie, saying that they had NEVER sold one, or seen one come complete with a sound moderator <img src="http://jsramsbottom.co.uk/bbs/e/icon_rolleyes.gif" alt="Roll Eyes" width="15" height="15"><!--graemlin:-->
[/quote]

Frank Dyke employs at least one pathalogical liar. When asked about a .17HMR replacement barrel for a 64 action 15xx WMR, the bloke I spoke to replied that the .17HMRs have different bolts - furthermore these bolts had required a huge investment by Anschutz in new machinery to make. When I pointed out this was BS as the .17HMR uses the .22WMR as its parent case, he rapidly recanted with "that may be so, but Anschutz have a 6 month waiting list for new rifles and I'm sure they won't be interested in making spare barrels until after they've caught up".

......Talking about pathological liars,
LITT'S gunshop in Wales are pathological kleptomaniacs AS WELL!

The georgeous Ripley that I sold to a chap in California through the BBS, had the misfortune to be routed through them for the FAC Export. Litt's rifled over a hundred quids worth of parts and extras, that I had included in the parcel, on their "re-packaging" for export. <img src="http://jsramsbottom.co.uk/bbs/e/icon_mad.gif" alt="Mad" width="15" height="15"><!--graemlin:--> <img src="http://jsramsbottom.co.uk/bbs/e/icon_mad.gif" alt="Mad" width="15" height="15"><!--graemlin:-->

What I really feel about them is unprintable! <img src="http://jsramsbottom.co.uk/bbs/e/icon_mad.gif" alt="Mad" width="15" height="15"><!--graemlin:-->

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by leupy:
Litt's rifled over a hundred quids worth of parts and extras, that I had included in the parcel, on their "re-packaging" for export[/quote]

I would have dearly liked to Robin, but it took me a long time to get feedback from California, as to exactly what was missing. I kept telling the guy in California that time was of the essence, but he took weeks to respond properly. In the meantime I was blowing a gasket about it and meeting a brick wall with Litt's.
...Gold plated muzzle crown, hammers, tools, laminated trigger diagram, instructions, gold plated trigger blades, cleaning pellets, + lots more, and surprise surprise, inventory of my package contents........ The surly bloke at the other end of the phone just said "don't know anything about any of that mate".
<img src="http://jsramsbottom.co.uk/bbs/e/icon_mad.gif" alt="Mad" width="15" height="15"><!--graemlin:--> <img src="http://jsramsbottom.co.uk/bbs/e/icon_mad.gif" alt="Mad" width="15" height="15"><!--graemlin:--> <img src="http://jsramsbottom.co.uk/bbs/e/icon_mad.gif" alt="Mad" width="15" height="15"><!--graemlin:-->

It's just as well they were in Wales, and me in Aberdeen I tell you <img src="http://jsramsbottom.co.uk/bbs/e/icon_mad.gif" alt="Mad" width="15" height="15"><!--graemlin:-->.

They also got a mint Ripley moderator, "for destruction", as I had to get it off my FAC. I'll bet they flogged that too! .....should have squashed it in a vice before I sent it, but it was such a beautiful piece of kit, I couldn't do it.

The missus was getting concerned about all my sleepless nights and the fact that the veins on my temples were starting to stick out and pulsate rather violently whenever I thought about it. She said "you got the money, and the guy in California got the gun and is happy with it, so leave it at that"

Eventually I did! <img src="http://jsramsbottom.co.uk/bbs/e/icon_mad.gif" alt="Mad" width="15" height="15"><!--graemlin:-->, but I'll never forgive them or forget about it!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by leupy:
She said "you got the money, and the guy in California got the gun and is happy with it, so leave it at that"[/quote]

It's not that easy though is it. When you try do do someone a favour, and an intermediary creams of the deal and makes some plunder out of it.
I would feel just the same